Wednesday, December 07, 2016

• Pearl Harbor attack cited as evangelism catalyst

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, December 07, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo from Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

  HONOLULU (BP) -- As Americans commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, some Christians also are remembering a series of evangelistic harvests that emerged from the death and destruction.

  Among those to find a saving relationship with Jesus in the aftermath of Dec. 7, 1941, were the commander of the Japanese air fleet that carried out the attack, Japanese Buddhists in Hawaii and other Hawaii residents who heard the preaching of missionaries recalled from East Asia. Read More

• Study: Most Americans say assisted suicide morally OK

  by Bob Smietana, posted Wednesday, December 07, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/License purchase required

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- The American Medical Association has described physician-assisted suicide as a serious risk to society and "fundamentally incompatible with a physician's role as healer." But Millions of Americans disagree, according to a new study released Tuesday (Dec. 6) by LifeWay Research.

  Two-thirds say it is morally acceptable for terminally ill patients to ask their doctors for help in ending their lives, according to a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. A similar number says doctors should be able to help terminally ill patients die. Read More

• WEEK OF PRAYER: 'Days of sweat' spread Gospel in Ghana

  by Elaine Gaston, posted Wednesday, December 07, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  IMB photo

  NALERIGU, Ghana (BP) -- After 10 years of medical school, residency and training, surgeon Heidi Haun spent a May morning in a West African courtyard pounding gravel into dirt with dozens of ladies who chanted traditional songs as a drummer beat time.

  It was a joyous scene with laughter and jokes as the women pounded smooth the courtyard dirt. Heidi, 34 weeks pregnant, pounded alongside them with a sampanni, a wooden tool resembling a baseball bat. Read More

• Crackdown on Christians in Nepal hits snag

  by Morning Star News, posted Wednesday, December 07, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  CSW, Giulio Paletta

  NEPAL (BP) -- A court in Nepal Tuesday (Dec. 6) acquitted eight Christians accused of attempting to convert children by means of a comic book, according to advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

  The seven men and one woman were arrested in Charikot, Dolakha District, in June as part of a crackdown on Christian activities in the fledgling democracy. They were reportedly mistreated in jail before being released on bail for charges that can carry prison terms. Read More

• Churches can serve foster children, Moore says

  by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, December 07, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/License purchase required

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Tennessee's new foster care initiative offers churches in the state the opportunity to provide crisis ministry to vulnerable children and families, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore says.

  Tennessee Fosters -- launched by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and his wife Crissy at a Dec. 5 event at a downtown Nashville church -- is a campaign to encourage government, churches, non-profit organizations and businesses in the effort to recruit more families for children in foster care and to support foster families. The state has more than 6,000 children in foster care and more than 4,000 foster parents. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Mission trip miscues

  by Shane Pruitt, posted Wednesday, December 07, 2016 (7 years ago)

  Do short-term mission trips truly advance the Kingdom of God? Are missions teams more of a help or a hindrance to the missionary? Are we really being good stewards of our resources? Shane Pruitt, director of missions for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, sets forth his counsel. Read More